In the latest development of Amos Yee’s asylum-seeking process, two US-based human rights groups – Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch – gave the 18-year-old teenager their endorsement with supporting documents in a 246-page application submitted at the Chicago Immigration Court today (Jan 31).

Amos Yee was jailed 6 weeks for insulting dictator Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his deceased father Lee Kuan Yew in 2015. The Singapore government however modified the charges claiming that Amos Yee “wounded the feelings”, and jailed the teenager in an adult trial.

According to US media reports, Amos Yee was wearing an orange jumpsuit with his hair now cut – a great difference from the shoulder-length hair he once sport. The US Judge accepted his application for asylum-seeking and set the next hearing to be next month on 7 March.

It is understood that Amos Yee will return to his detention center in North Illinois where he was first contained since he declared his intention to seek asylum at the O’Hare International Airport.

Singapore’s political system is increasingly becoming irrelevant and unresponsive to voices of the populace as more government critics and analysts are forced to exile from Singapore. The exodus of the intellectuals is a result of oppression and politically-motivated punishments sanctioned by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s ruling party PAP. With more agents of change like Amos Yee leaving the country instead of staying in the country to renew the system, Singapore is likely to degenerate further worsening the country’s already-ailing economy and peoples’ livelihood.